1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an adjustable wrench. In particular, the present invention relates to an adjustable wrench that includes a mechanism to lock a locking member against a movable jaw relative to a stationary jaw.
2. Background of the Invention
A conventional adjustable wrench generally includes an adjusting worm gear that the user rotates with the thumb in order to position a movable jaw with respect to a stationary jaw. Typically, the worm gear is rotatably mounted to the stationary jaw and the worm gear engages teeth formed in a rack extending from the movable jaw. The movable jaw slidably moves along a track defined in the wrench body. The movable jaw may thus be positioned to form a variable clamp space between the movable jaw and the stationary jaw. The lateral engagement of the rack teeth by the worm gear prevents movement of the movable jaw when force is applied to the movable jaw during use. Frequently, this type of conventional adjustable wrench requires readjustment even when engaging objects of the same size, especially when a large force is applied to turn the engaged object. Further, the worm gear must be turned to readjust the jaw gap to engage different-sized objects.
The present invention relates to an adjustable wrench that includes a spring and a locking member that eliminates the need for frequent readjustment for like-sized objects during repetitive applications, yet the wrench of the present invention is easily adjustable to accommodate various-sized objects.